U.S. patent number 5,009,518 [Application Number 07/390,826] was granted by the patent office on 1991-04-23 for window-style bag with integral coupon.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Bagcraft Corporation of America. Invention is credited to Mark Faltynek.
United States Patent |
5,009,518 |
Faltynek |
April 23, 1991 |
Window-style bag with integral coupon
Abstract
There is disclosed herein a window-style bag which includes a
removable coupon overlying and a transparent window-forming area
where the consumer may view the contents of the bag. The coupon
section overlies the transparent window-forming film and the bag
aperture which forms the window. The coupon is intended for
removal, and when so removed, the window viewing area is opened or
enlarged, and the bag's structural integrity is substantially
unaffected. In practice, the viewing section may be polygonal but
is usually rectangular, but the coupon may be secured along two,
three or four sides to the bag.
Inventors: |
Faltynek; Mark (Chicago,
IL) |
Assignee: |
Bagcraft Corporation of America
(Chicago, IL)
|
Family
ID: |
23544092 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/390,826 |
Filed: |
August 8, 1989 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
383/106; 206/831;
229/70; 383/111; 383/91 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
33/004 (20130101); Y10S 206/831 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
33/00 (20060101); B65D 033/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;383/106,127,111,91
;229/70,162 ;206/831,45.31,459 ;40/312 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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|
|
|
|
|
|
934095 |
|
Oct 1955 |
|
DE |
|
2047860 |
|
Apr 1971 |
|
DE |
|
6398 |
|
1899 |
|
GB |
|
709750 |
|
Jun 1954 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: Marcus; Stephen
Assistant Examiner: Pascua; Jes F.
Claims
I claim
1. An open-topped bag for carrying goods on the inside thereof,
which comprises bottom, side, back and front walls, said front wall
having a window defined by an aperture area and a transparent film
secured to said front wall on the inside thereof and overlying said
aperture area:
wherein the improvement comprises said front wall including a
coupon defining section having a perimeter and separably connected
to but integral with said front wall in said aperture area, said
section being connected to the front wall along less than the
section's entire perimeter and constructed to overlie at least a
portion of said transparent film;
whereby said coupon section can be removed from the bag without
adversely affecting the integrity of the bag and exposing
previously unexposed transparent film so as to provide for greater
viewing of the contents after separation than before separation of
the coupon section from the bag.
2. A bag as in claim 1, wherein there is provided a bendable wire
closure member adjacent the top end of one of the front or back
panels for closing the bag.
3. An open-topped bag for carrying goods on the inside thereof,
which comprises bottom, side, back and front walls, said front wall
having a window defined by an aperture area and a transparent film
secured to said front wall on the inside thereof and overlying said
aperture area:
wherein the improvement comprises said front wall including a
coupon defining section separably connected to but integral with
said front wall in said aperture area and constructed to overlie at
least a portion of said transparent film;
whereby said coupon can be removed from the bag without adversely
affecting the integrity of the bag and exposing previously
unexposed transparent film so as to provide for greater viewing of
the contents after separation than before separation of the coupon
section from the bag; and
wherein said coupon section is connected to the bag along three
sides and the coupon section overlies only a portion of the
transparent film so as to form an initial viewing area adjacent to
said coupon section.
4. A bag as in claim 3, wherein there is provided a bendable wire
closure member adjacent the top end of one of the front or back
panels for closing the bag.
5. An open-topped bag for carrying goods on the inside thereof,
which comprises bottom, side, back and front walls, said front wall
having a window defined by an aperture area and a transparent film
secured to said front wall on the inside thereof and overlying said
aperture area:
wherein the improvement comprises said front wall including a
coupon defining section separably connected to but integral with
said front wall in said aperture area and constructed to overlie at
least a portion of said transparent film;
whereby said coupon can be removed from the bag without adversely
affecting the integrity of the bag and exposing previously
unexposed transparent film so as to provide for greater viewing of
the contents after separation than before separation of the coupon
section from the bag;
wherein said coupon section is connected to the bag along three
sides and the coupon section overlies only a portion of the
transparent film so as to form an initial viewing area adjacent to
said coupon section; and wherein said aperture has a substantially
rectangular shape and after removal of the coupon section the
aperture has a larger substantially rectangular shape.
6. An open-topped bag for carrying goods on the inside thereof,
which comprises bottom, side, back and front walls, said front wall
having a window defined by an aperture area and a transparent film
secured to said front wall on the inside thereof and overlying said
aperture area:
wherein the improvement comprises said front wall including a
coupon defining section separably connected to but integral with
said front wall in said aperture area and constructed to overlie at
least a portion of said transparent film and thus form an initial
viewing area adjacent the coupon section;
whereby said coupon section can be removed from the bag without
adversely affecting the integrity of the bag and exposing
previously unexposed transparent film so as to provide for greater
viewing of the contents after separation than before separation of
the coupon section from the bag;
wherein said viewing aperture is polygonally shaped.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to bags, and more particularly, to bags
which have a window for viewing the contents thereof.
Paper bags having front, back, side, and bottom panels and a
closable top for carrying goods are known. Some of these bags have
a window in one panel, usually the front, which window is formed by
cutting an aperture in the bag panel and then applying a sheet of
transparent film to the inside of the bag and across the aperture.
This provides a window through which the contents of the bags can
be viewed. Sometimes contents are prepackaged in the bag, the bag
top is closed, for example, by a bendable wire closure, and the bag
and contents are placed on sale.
In order to enhance sales, it is sometimes desirable to provide a
coupon in association with the bag. Such coupons may be separate
members secured to the bag as by gluing or stapling. However, if
the coupon is integral with the bag (i.e., printed on the bag) and
is to be removed, the removal may degrade the structural integrity
or carrying strength of the bag. Thus, separate coupons have been
used which are not completely desirable because of costs, loss or
removal.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a coupon
system for a window bag which is integral with the bag, and whose
removal will not significantly structurally degrade the bag.
It is another object to provide such a bag in which removal of the
coupon enhances viewing the contents.
It is yet another object to provide such a bag which minimizes the
costs, loss and/or removal of the couponing system.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for
making such a bag and couponing system.
These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from
the following disclosure and appended claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
There is disclosed herein a window-type bag with a couponing system
which meets the foregoing objects. In this system, a coupon is
formed integral with the bag but removably secured to the bag at
the window-forming aperture by perforations. The coupon can be
constructed to overlie a part of the film so that the window is
partly exposed. Thus the consumer can view the contents and also
see the coupon. In some situations the coupon may completely
overlie the film, and thus close the window so that no window is
available until the coupon is removed. The coupon is removed from
the bag by tearing it along perforation lines at the window-forming
aperture. When this is done, the viewing window area is exposed or
enlarged and the bag's structural integrity is substantially
unaffected. In practice, the coupon may be secured to the bag along
perforation lines along two, three or four sides of the
aperture.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a closed bag having a window and
coupon partially covering the window;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a coupon of the type in FIG. 1
removed from the bag;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bag as in FIG. 1 but with the
coupon removed;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV--IV of FIG. 1
showing the coupon and window formation for the bag;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V--V of FIG. 3 showing
a bag and window construction with the coupon removed;
FIG. 6 is an elevational view of a fragment of the front panel of a
bag showing the coupon secured along four sides and completely
closing the window, but bent back for removal; and
FIG. 7 is a view taken along line VII--VII of FIG. 6 showing the
manner of connection of the coupon to the bag.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a bag 10 generally which
includes a front panel 12, a back panel similar to the front panel
but not shown herein, a pair of side panels, one of which is shown,
such as 14, and a bottom panel (not shown herein). The bag has a
closable top portion 16 which is shown folded closed and held
closed by a bendable wire closure member 18. This is a typical
paper bag and can be folded flat along the fold lines such as 20.
This type of bag can carry contents, such as 22, and has a viewing
window or area such as 24. A window is formed by cutting an
aperture 25 in the front panel and then covering that aperture or
hole from the inside with a transparent film, such as 26.
The film is substantially larger than the aperture 25. In this
embodiment the aperture 25 is formed by fully cutting through the
panel where viewing is to take place and perforating the remainder
of the panel so that a coupon section 28 generally is formed
adjacent the initial viewing area 24a. The coupon section is formed
in this situation by three perforations 30, 32 and 34, which define
the coupon section relative to the bag panel 12. The coupon section
28 is perforated at the same time the aperture 25 and initial
viewing area 24a is formed. Thus when the window-forming film 26 is
applied, it is applied over both the cut viewing section 27 and the
perforated coupon-forming section 28. When the coupon section 28 is
removed by tearing along the perforations 30, 32 and 34, the
window-forming film 26 is left intact and is behind the section of
coupon which has been removed. In effect, the viewing area 24 has
been made larger by the size of the coupon 28 that has been
removed. In addition, the coupon configuration may be cross-shaped,
etc. Removal of the coupon section therefrom does not detract from
the integrity of the bag for carrying goods since the bag's
carrying ability depends upon the transparent section to provide
the strength in the area where the coupon has been removed.
Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, it is seen that the coupon section
28 has been removed from the window area for use but removal has
just enlarged the viewing area 24 so that the bag still remains
closed, is structurally integral and the viewing area 24 has been
increased in size by the removal of the coupon section 28.
The window shown herein is generally rectangular and may be
referred to as a round cornered square. However, numerous different
polygonal configurations can be used and related coupons. Such
coupons can be secured along two or four sides to the bag and still
provide the desired integral nature and enlarged viewing area.
Referring now to FIG. 6, a full-size coupon 50 is shown which is
connected to the aperture along all four sides 52, 54, 56 and 58.
The coupon 50 is so shaped so as to totally overlie the window such
as 60. The window-forming film, such as 62, is secured to the
inside of the bag so as to form the transparent window. Removal of
the coupon is performed by tearing the coupon from the bag panel
along the perforations. Initially, the purchaser only sees a bag
with a coupon, but as the coupon is separated from the bag, the
viewing area is intact, the contents can be seen, and the
structural integrity of the bag is maintained.
It will be appreciated that numerous other embodiments of the
coupon and window can be provided so long as the coupon is secured
to the panel in such a way to avoid degradation of the bag's
structural integrity and permit viewing of the bag's contents.
Although the invention has been described with respect to preferred
embodiments, it is not to be so limited as changes and
modifications can be made which are within the full intended scope
of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
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